OFF LEASH
The pinnacle of my relationship with my dogs is being able to take them off leash and walk with them anytime, anywhere. Being ABLE to do so is different from choosing to do so when it would not be in their best interest, but being able to do so is magic. Taking my dogs to a natural area and letting them run free has been one of the greatest relationship building activities I have ever had the pleasure of engaging in.
GENETICS, MISS MANNERS AND THE WAR ZONE
Probably the toughest question you get as a dog behaviour consultant is “why does my dog have this problem”. Regardless of the problem, aggression, anxiety, fears and phobias, separation anxiety, everyone wants to know why THEIR dog has a behaviour problem.
NORMAL OR WHAT IS YOUR DOG TELLING ME
When a dog comes into my classroom I have a little under a second to determine if that dog is going to be safe to handle and train in the setting we are in. If we are in a group class, I have a responsibility to my students and their dogs to make sure that everyone is safe at all times.
HEARING YOUR DOG
Last time I talked about talking to my dogs. This time I want to talk about listening and more importantly hearing what they have to say. Dogs are non verbal species. This means that they can only tell us things by their behaviour.
SMOKE DETECTORS AND THE “R AND R” SYSTEM OF BITE PREVENTION
So what does it mean when a dog growls? Growling is one of the behaviours that precedes a bite. In fact, there is a whole sequence of behaviours that usually happen before the dog actually bites.
HOW DO WE KNOW?
Stress and anxiety in puppies and dogs is something that we often see and many fail to recognize.